Lost But Not Alone
by Teefa and Co
Summary: Sidestory to Looking for her. A look at what happened to Virgina in order to make her how she was when she and Jet reunited.
1. Stolen Memories

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Stolen Memories

After Virginia was sure that Jet was ok, she began to walk down the corridor of the cave. She knew that he would be ok on his own, he had been fighting in the wastelands long before she had left Boot Hill. His gun was also more powerful, and his own powers could help if necessary. But she still worried about him. There was no way to know if any of these corridors lead out of the cave. If one of them was trapped on their path, the other would suffer mentally.

Her other major worry was that she would faint from her exhaustion, be slowed down, and have their pursuers catch her after getting through the rocks that were blocking the way back. She had learned to deal with her fits of exhaustion by now, they had begun occurring after the time Leehalt had affected her with the nanomachine virus. In conjunction with her "woman's problem" in fact.

"Just my luck," she mumbled, "We're trapped in a cave, and no one is around to help me."

Virginia hadn't been alone on her journey since she got on that train, and met her allies. The only time they had separated was when Clive returned home in depression, and even then she had Jet and Gallows to help her. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, it was just lonely.

"What I wouldn't give would be for Gallows to make one of his dumb jokes, at least then I would be able to laugh. Or for Clive to be here to assure us that we can get out of here no matter how we had to accomplish it. But most of all, I want Jet here to stand by my side," she stated.

Thinking about her beloved made Virginia's resolve to survive strengthen. She didn't want to hurt him, he'd been through enough in his short life. The last thing he needed was to lose the woman he loved, the person who cared the most about what happened to him.

She thought, 'My dad only thought he'd need to learn how to survive. He never even told Jet who he really was. Jet needs me to help him learn about life, and to make the happy memories he deserves. I'll make it out of here, and then we can finally be together again. Listen to me, we've only been apart for a few minutes, and I'm acting like I haven't seen him in several years.'

But she knew that her energy was fading fast. Not that it stopped Virginia, she just kept going forward, her resolve strengthened. And not just because she had to find out if Jet was ok or not, there was another reason that was even more important than that, which was saying something. 'Sure is a long tunnel. But I must press on. I'm ok, the virus is just acting up again. It always acts up around this time of the month, even thought the stupid thing hasn't come for three months. I'll just warp to Humphrey's Peak and talk to Chevelle. She'll be able to tell me if I'm right or not. I mean, I don't think Jet even believes he CAN have children. Imagine the look on his face when I tell him this, he'll probably freak out. 'Cause he's definitely the father, I didn't sleep with any other man.'

The woman was hoping that she was right. She wanted to have a child of her own for some time, and she'd only been waiting for the right man. But after meeting Jet, it hadn't seemed to be as important as it was before, as she didn't know if her father and his fellow scientists had taken that into account when they'd created Jet, and she loved him too much to let him go.

She was so lost in thought, that she didn't see the rock on the ground. Then, Virginia tripped over it. The young woman fell flat on her face. When she got up, she rubbed her nose.

'I'd better be more careful,' she realized, 'If I am pregnant, I can't do anything to hurt the baby. I'll probably end up having to hide out with either my aunt and uncle, or Clive's family for the next nine months. No, make that six, if my calculations are correct, I should already be three months now.'

She continued on for some time. Suddenly, another earthquake rocked the cavern. Combined with her already feeling sick, she slipped and fell. Thus, she wasn't able to avoid the rock as it began to fall from the ceiling, and knock her unconscious.

* * *

Some time later, she woke up, miraculously alive, albeit trapped under a pile or rubble. Virginia struggled to free herself. When she finally did, the young woman continued onwards. But there was something wrong. Try as she might, Virginia couldn't remember who she was.

'Who am I? How did I get here? What are these strange golden plates that I have in my possession? And how come I'm exhausted, even after all that rest,' she wondered.

Virginia looked over all of her possessions. She could see the Ark Scepter and the Mediums, but had no idea what she should do with them. So she was unable to heal the many wounds over her body with the power of Schturdark. Among those wounds, she found that her left eye was bleeding badly. If she could use magic to heal it right away, it could be saved. But there was little chance that a doctor would be able to do anything besides sew it up and give her a patch to put over it.

She yelled, "Guardians! This really hurts. I wish there was something I could do for the pain. Let's see if I have some berries in my pack." But there was nothing to be found. For she had been carrying the status recovery items, Teleport Orb, and most of the important items such as the picture of the Council of Seven, and the letter her father had left her before heading to Mimir's Well. Not that she could remember what each of them could do, so they were even more useless than before.

It was some time before she managed to find a way out of the cave. In the distance, Virginia could see the town of Ballack Rise. She headed for it instantly. By this time, she was limping from a wound on her leg, and the exhaustion from the nanomachines. When she got to town, the young woman fainted. The last words that escaped her lips before passing out, were, "Help me."

  
"Get this girl a doctor," ordered one man, "She's bleeding badly."

"Well, help me move her to somewhere where she can be comfortable," his companion quipped.

The two men managed to get her into the saloon. They called the closest thing the town had to a doctor, the saloon owner with an interest in chemistry. He began to look over her wounds, wondering how someone so young had managed to get hurt so badly.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

I liked Megami so much, that I wanted to tell more stories about her. Thus, this fic. Sorta wanted to show the changes from innocent Ginny to tough Megami.

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	2. Creating an Identity

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Creating an Identity

'Where am I?' thought Virginia, 'This place doesn't seem familiar at all. But I can't remember much about myself, so it might be an important memory of my past. Like my hometown.'

Before her, the young woman saw a small brown haired child with blue eyes. The girl was about eight or nine years old, and was crying. Around her neck, there was a golden locket with a picture of a man and woman in a loving embrace, with a brown haired blue eyed baby in the woman's arm. The man had brown hair and blue eyes, while his wife had yellow hair and green eyes.

"Daddy, why did you have to leave me? Now, because you're gone, mommy left me too. I'm all alone now, why did you have to go?" she inquired. Her questions remained answered.

Virginia wondered, 'Is that me as a child? It has to be, maybe I'm traveling through my memories. I would like to know what she meant by her parents leaving her. It sounds like the father ran off and the mother followed. But it could also mean that she died of sorrow due to his absence, or he died causing her to run off or die as well. Seems like I was a very lonely child.'

She then saw the scene before her fade out. A new memory was forming. There was Jet, Gallows, Clive and herself, all fighting monsters in the Wastelands. She could see one beast trying to attack her when she was down, and Jet protecting her by knocking her out of the way.

All too soon, the memory changed. Now, the group was going to sleep in their camp. The night was cold, and they were all huddling in their blankets. But Virginia was much warmer than the others, as she slept, Jet held her in his arms. A peaceful look was on his face.

Before Virginia could wonder if he was her lover, older brother, or just a real close friend who protected her, a new scene was shown. Let's just say that the memory was not exactly PG. Heck, the scene she saw before her wasn't even PG-13. Virginia blushed as she watched.

She looked towards the ceiling. 'I get it now. I was a very lonely child, and I joined up with those three male Drifters some time in my late teens. The one with the silver hair seemed to be my protector, and we eventually fell in love. And I do mean love. Oh Guardians, they must have died in the accident. I didn't see them in the rubble, and they most certainly would have died if they were completely covered by the rocks. And they would have saved me if they had gotten out before me.'

"Go figure," she muttered, "I finally find someone to love me, and I'm left alone all again. Why should I remember those happy times at all? These stupid memories are just going to upset me when I think of them. Might as well just get rid of them here and now."

She began to hear a voice in her head. The voice seemed to be male, and quite cold. But there was something familiar about him, as if she'd known him in the past.

"Memories, who needs 'em? I certainly don't. I could care less if you find out who I really am or not. So why don't you just give it up, it's not going to matter if you do or not," he stated.

Virginia said, "You seem to have the right idea. These memories are just confusing me. I'll just forget about them. What's the use remembering a lover who you'll never see again?"

When Virginia looked up again, she saw the four High Guardians. Raftina stepped forward to acknowledge the girl. "Your past lies with us. Trust, and you will eventually find your answers. Look for the Dragon, the Wolf, and the Lion, they will help you find your future. Remember, you are my master, the bearer of the Goddess's power." Then, Raftina touched her and turned into a Medium. She saw Zephyr do the same with Jet, Lucied do the same with Gallows, and Justine do the same with Clive.

'Goddess?' mused Virginia, 'Dragon, Wolf, and Lion? What does that all mean?'

"Your past is tied with the four of us. Same with that of the others," the Love Guardain told her.

Virginia thought, 'She must be talking about our names. But I don't think that our names are Goddess, Dragon, Wolf, and Lion. It must be those terms in another language. How about Megami, Ryu, Okami, and Raion? That's it, that must be our names.'

Raftina's voice still could be heard in her mind. "You must awaken now. Only by looking to the future can you find your past. So you must return to the world of the living."

* * *

When Virginia opened her eyes, she saw the "doctor" shaking her awake. The woman just wanted to continue to sleep. What she'd dreamt about didn't matter, she just needed to sleep.

The first thing she noticed was that there was no sight in her left eye. When the woman felt the area where her eye was, she found only a scar. It seemed that the doctor had sewn it shut.

"Are you ok miss?" asked the doctor, "You've been stitched up, and will survive. But your eye was a lost cause. And you're carrying a kid as well. Seems like you're three months along as well. You should take it easy for awhile, else you might reopen your wounds, or kill the kid. What's your name anyway?" It was easy enough to hear the concern in his voice as he spoke to her.

"My name is Megami, the Goddess warrior," she told the man.

He replied, "Megami, eh? Well, I reckon you should stay in bed for at least a week. But it wouldn't hurt you to spend a little more time than that. Just take it easy for awhile, at least until your kid is born. Where's the father anyway, he should be here to help you out?"

  
She looked down. "He's dead. Died in the same accident I was in."

  
"Sorry," he replied, "I had no idea that you were all alone."

  
"Don't worry, there's no point in dwelling on the past. Just promise me that you'll never breath a word of this encounter to anyone. If the townspeople ask, that's one thing. But I don't want the rest of the world to have to know about my messed up life," she requested.

The man answered, "Only you have the right to tell anyone about your past. I'll let you be the one to explain about who you are when you're good and ready."

  
Virginia - - now Megami - - was impressed by his kindness. But she knew she'd never tell anyone about her past. She would become a heartless Drifter, one who would never have to suffer from the loss of friends or family ever again. People would learn to fear and respect her, and she'd never form an emotional tie to another person again. Ryu would be her first love, and her last love.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…  


As to why the story is longer. Well, I needed to give Jet the abridged version. Since this is based more on Virginia, I could give her dream more screen time.   



	3. A New Life

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A New Life

For the next month, Megami spent most of her time in bed. She got up for only a few minutes each day, so her muscles wouldn't get tired. But in fear of harming herself even more than she already had, she didn't do anything too strenuous. Mostly, it was just stretches.

In an attempt to sever the past, the young woman cut off most of the long braid that she kept her hair in. What little was left, was tied up in a small ponytail. She also severed the end of the lock of hair that fell down over the left side of her body, so it only was about shoulder length.

Between the new hairdo, the scars, and the eyepatch, Megami no longer could be mistaken for the fugitive Virginia Maxwell Enduro. Only a person looking for Virginia would even think to ask Megami if they were the same person. But she didn't know all about that. Rather, she was shocked when she saw the wanted poster for the first time. It first appeared to be one of her and her friends, but when she saw the names, she dismissed it. Never did it enter her mind that it might be who she really was.

After one month, Megami finally felt well enough to leave her bed. She took a job waiting on customers in the saloon, hoping to pay for room and board, and thank them for helping her out when she was injured. That's where she met the ARMs Dealer who would change her life forever.

"Hey, miss," he whispered, "You look like you're a Drifter. Stuck here due to a tab perchance?"

  
"None of your business of the exact reason why I'm here. The point is that I can't move on for awhile, so I'm working off my room and board, got a problem with that?" she demanded.

The man replied, "Heavens no. I just saw how ratty your old clothing is, looks like you just lost a fight to a rabid bear or something." For although she'd taken off her leather apron, coat, and the ribbon around her neck, she still had on the same shirt and skirt that had been ripped by falling rocks.

Megami looked at him with a glint in her good eye. "And that concerns you, because?"

"I'm an ARMs Dealer," he told her, "I would like to know if you want to buy some better weapons. Those pistols you have with you aren't powerful enough to help you if you're all alone. I'd be willing to sell you something with much more strength, in case you come up against tough enemies. Tell you what, if you give me those little pistols, I'll be willing to cut you a deal on this bazooka I'm looking to sell."

"How much do you want for the bazooka? I'll pay you full price. Using these pistols just seems natural somehow. Besides, I'll need to learn how to use the bazooka. If I get attacked while I'm still getting the hang of it, and have no other means to defend myself, it's game over," she stated.

The man said, "I understand. Since you seem down on your luck, I'll cut you a good deal. You can have the bazooka for five thousand Gella. I'll even throw in some new clothing, looks like you might need it. It's not really a feminine style, but it beats the ripped up things you have now."

Megami thought the offer over for a second. "It's a deal. I'll take them."

  
So she gave him five thousand Gella, and he presented her with a large bazooka and a new set of clothes. Her new attire consisted of a brown shirt, and brown leather boots with a ruby imbedded in the front. The pants she wore were red, and held up by a black belt with a golden buckle. A red vest/coat hybrid was worn over the shirt. She didn't want to get rid of her bandana, but at least it went with the rest of the outfit. The bazooka was in surprisingly good condition, it looked like it would need little or no maintenance. Just the usual upgrades found in all ARMs.

"You've been a good customer," he informed her, "I hope you're happy with the bazooka."

* * *

Megami wasted no time learning to fire the ARM. She would practice shooting at a target she'd set up near the edge of town, after informing the parents to keep their children from interfering. There was no point in some kid wandering into an oncoming shot, and getting killed.

It wasn't too hard to master the ARM. Once then, she began to upgrade it at the local ARMs shop. By the time she'd finished, it held seven bullets, had a 0.6 Critical Hit Rate, and could perform a four shot Gattling attack at full force points. It was quite similar to her pistols, except they were less powerful and could perform a five shot Gattling attack at full force points.

Without a reason to leave on a journey, Megami never left Ballack Rise. If monsters attacked, she might kill her child. Besides, there were certain times a month where she became queasy and sick for no reason whatsoever. Until she figured out the pattern, it was best just to stay home.

'But for some reason, I feel like I must be somewhere, but I can't remember exactly which town I need to go to,' she thought. All of those feelings were accompanied by a picture of Ryu, so she 

wondered if it had something to do with him. If she'd known which town, she might decide to hire a Drifter to help her get there. But as she didn't, there was no reason to go out of her way to find out.

* * *

At one of her routine checkups, the doctor stated, "Miss Megami, I've got a surprise for you."

  
She looked at him with wonder in her eyes. "What is it? I don't care if you've found a way to restore my memories, like you always say you want to try and do. I'm completely happy with the way my life is now. Just tell me is if my child will be a girl or a boy."

"Well, that's the surprise," he told her, "Looks like you'll be even busier than you previously thought. You're going to be the mother of twins. One is a girl, and the other is a boy."

"Are you serious?! I'll really have two of them!" she exclaimed.

The doctor nodded. There was something that puzzled him. Usually, Megami was unhappy about being around other people, and would rather spend much of her free time alone. But whenever she talked about her pregnancy or future child, there was a light in her eyes that wasn't seen at other times. He guessed that what he'd heard was true, no matter who you are, or how you feel about people, you can't help but get attached to your child, and want to be with them at all times.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

Now you know about her hair. She cut it in order to destroy ties to her past. Heck, now only those looking for her will actually think she's Virginia.


	4. Renewed Love

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Renewed Love

Megami kept a calendar on her wall, with the estimated date of labor marked on it. Every day, she would place an X on the previous date, and counted how much longer she had to wait for the children to be born. It was one of the most exciting days of her life. Maybe she didn't want to dwell on the past, and on Ryu, but these children would lead her to a new future. They would also be the last gift that she ever received from Ryu. Children would assure her that she'd never lose her heart.

She'd even thought of names for the two children. The little boy was going to be named Ashley Alexander - - Ashley being the name of a hero from history, and Alexander because it seemed like a nice name. The little girl was going to be named Lilka Jane - - Lilka being the name of one of Ashley's allies when he'd fought, and Jane from another historical figure dating back to the second Demon War. But there was no last name for any of them, she didn't know her own, let alone Ryu's.

It seemed quite ironic how she wanted to name them after historical figures, although she didn't like memories. Megami's reasoning was that she needed strong names that people cold identify. And what says strength more than heroes and gunslingers? I certainly can't think of anything.

Finally, on the day of August 12th, Megami went into labor. She managed to get to her room at the saloon, where she called for the doctor. He came right away, along with a few other townspeople to assist him. If he needed a certain tool or something to numb the pain, he'd send them.

"By the Guardians!" she yelled, "If you weren't already dead Ryu, I'd kill you!"

* * *

After only a half-hour, both children were born. Much to the relief of the townspeople, as Megami had screamed at her dead lover throughout the whole time. Lilka had been born first, followed shortly by her brother. When it was all over, Megami held her two babies, and smiled at them.

Although Ashley had her shining blue eyes, Lilka's were purple. In fact, they looked just like the eyes of the man called Ryu from her dream. That further proved that he was her lover, it was a million to one chance that she slept with another violet-eyed man, as the color was pretty rare.

"My babies. My sweet innocent babies. Mommy's never going to let you go," she whispered.

At that moment, she began to sing a lullaby to the twins. It sounded like she'd made it up on the spur of the moment, no one had ever heard of it before. Or it could have been something her mother had sung to her in the past. But that idea was quickly dismissed, as she didn't dwell on the past.

When asked, Megami stated, "I made it up a few months ago. I had to sing something to my babies, and I didn't care to use the same songs as everyone else. I call it 'Only the Night Sky Knows'. I've got two other songs that I wrote to sing to them, but they're not really lullabies."

* * *

Megami kept to herself even more than before. Now, she spent most of her time inside the hotel, keeping a close eye on the twins as they napped. For short times each day, she would sit outside with them, letting the wind flow through her hair, and feel the sun on her face. But she never took her eyes off of them, or let them stay directly in the sunlight. She was a little overprotective of her children.

For the next few months, she never stepped foot out of the town. But when the twins were six months old, that all changed. Feeling confident about her ability to fight, she decided to head for another town, in search of a bounty of some sort. The job at the saloon wouldn't support two infants forever, her milk was beginning to dry up as she started them on cereal and mashed fruits. As luck would have it, the Teleport Orb fell out of her pocket, and when she picked it up, she felt the air around her distort. When it cleared, she found herself near the town of Laixland. It was in that moment that she realized that the orb could take her anywhere she wanted. This was good fortune for the young mother.

She thought of the possibilities. "I can go anywhere I want to with this thing. I don't have to worry about traveling between towns, and getting the kids caught up in battle. If I need to, I can get my clients to baby-sit them for me while I'm working on the job they've given me. Now, I can take on some more dangerous jobs in order to earn the necessary cash to support the three of us."

The young woman walked into town. There, she found out about the monster epidemic. For some reason, monsters had begun to increase in the area, and they needed someone to eliminate them. Of course, not too many people came to Laixland, so they were kind of screwed at the moment.

"I'll offer my services," Megami stated, "All I ask is that someone take care of my children for me. They'll just get in the way if I'm fighting." She sounded much sterner than she actually was. To the people, it looked like she was angry with them, only keeping them due to having no where to leave them. But in reality, she wanted to keep them close to her.

"If you can take care of the monsters, we'll do anything. How about we pay for all of your room and board, as well as your other expenses like food, clothing, and bullets for your services. Heck, if you do a good job, we'll throw in a nice bonus," one man told her.

Megami said, "You have a deal. Where do the monsters live anyway?"

  
A woman shook her head. "We don't exactly know where their cave is. But they live in the fields around this town. In recent days, they've become much more active. Roykman, the merchant, was attacked the last time he came to town, and is still healing his wounds in his room at the saloon. If this keeps up, no merchants will be able to get through, and our people will starve."

"I'll take on this job," Megami told them, "It's right up my alley anyway. The only thing I know is my gun. Battle is the only thing I have in my life, the only thing to bring me any joy."

But as she said those words, Megami knew how much she was lying. Her work might bring her joy, in the form of the Gella she earned. It was not, however, her only joy, or even her biggest joy. The real biggest joy in her life was in the form of the two children that she had slung in the sling over her back. She longed for the days when they were older, and they could talk to one another.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

Well, the song does have that calming lullaby feel to it. The other two songs are "Advanced Wind" and "Wings". I wanted to do like in FF VIII and IX, have the themesong be a real song in the game. So I made up Ginny's songs.  



	5. Monster Mayhem

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Monster Mayhem

Megami went up to the saloon to rent a room. Just like the villagers told her, the owner agreed to give her free room and board for fighting the monsters. She went up to her room to unpack and set up the babies' supplies, knowing very well that this assignment could take awhile.

"Long time no see, Miss Maxwell," a voice behind her said, "Oh, I forgot, you're Mrs. Enduro now. So tell me, where are the others, or are you just out on an assignment by yourself. But I'm surprised to see you without Jet, you two never go anywhere without one another these days. I know you might want to get away from Clive and Gallows once in awhile, but not from the man you love."

She turned around to see Roykman the merchant standing there. He looked quite battered as a result of the tussle with the monsters. The young man's left leg was in a cast, and he couldn't even walk without a pair of crutches, and even with them he had a limp.

"Excuse me sir, I think you have the wrong person. My name is Megami, not Virginia. I don't even know a person named Jet, and my comrades' names were Ryu, Okami, and Raion. All of them are dead, so I'm traveling around the world on my own now," she stated with extreme coldness.

Roykman took a closer look at her scarred body, and the patch over her left eye. Finally, he told her, "I guess I made a mistake. Sorry if I bothered you Miss. But if you need supplies to cross the now not so much of a Wasteland, I'll be more than happy to provide you with my services."

Megami let out a little chuckle at his joke. It was true that you could no longer quite call the places between towns a Wasteland, what with the new growth in plants following Beatrice's defeat. But it wasn't quite a lush green wilderness yet either. So the classification was up in the air.

Quickly the young woman resumed a strait face. "I have plenty of status items at the moment. But if you're selling berries, I'll be more than happy to take you up on your offer."

Indeed, he was. For now that Filgaia was starting to regenerate, healing items were beginning to grow in the wild. Florina had taken some of her seedlings to places that could see the most improvement, and had begun planting more gardens around the world. From that tiny start, they had begun growing in other parts of the world, as seedlings were often carried on the wind towards a new destination. Now, a merchant who was passing could pick and sell these items freely, just like before Filgaia deteriorated into a Wasteland in the first place. Megami therefor brought a good number of each berry and carrot, from all of the bonuses she'd received for working in the Ballack Rise saloon for the past year.

"Thank you miss," Roykman said, "If you ever need some supplies, remember the name of Roykman. I'll be more than happy to sell you some more for your long journey."

* * *

The next day, she began her mission to fight against the monsters in the area. Besides them being much more numerous, there were also types not commonly found in the Laixland area. It looked like they were rogues who escaped from the ABBYS's top ten levels, although she couldn't explain how it'd happened. For the first enemy she ran into was the fire dog like creature known as Baskerville.

"Fools, wishing to die at my hands! Fine, then come and get it!" she exclaimed. Knowing very well what a Baskerville could do, she made sure to equip her Fire Ward Personal Skill.

Suddenly, the voice of Raftina spoke directly into Megami's head. She told Megami, "You have the magic you acquired in Baskar to help you out. Use the power of Schturdark to aid you. The Ice spell Refridgerate is one of his specialties, and that's a Baskerville's weakness."

Megami shrugged. "Whatever you say Raftina. Last thing I need is a know it all Guardian bugging me the whole time. Let's go, Refridgerate." With that, she cast the frigid spell on the Baskerville standing before her. It was instantly destroyed by the attack, and turned into an Ice Gem.

"Piece of cake," she muttered, "Guess that merchant doesn't know how to fight at all. Else there'd be no way even he could lose to something like this. Well, I won't need these gems very much, if I've got this magic. Might as well sell them to him, he could use some help getting from town to town. This is why I hate ammeters, all they create is trouble for us professional Drifters."

* * *

After about an hour of work, she went back to town for a lunch break. There, she sold the many Ice Gems she'd gotten, as Balphons were also weak against Ice. Where her magic wouldn't give her a one shot kill, she relied on her bazooka to fight. Thus, there were little new wounds on her body.

"So, how did it go? Kill anything out there Miss Megami?" inquired Roykman.

Another man asked her, "Did you manage to destroy some unusual enemies, or were they just the usual fare we have. Roykman claims that the beasts broke out of the ABBYS.

She threw her sack of Ice Gems down onto the table. "How much can I get for these Roykman? Got them fighting Baskervilles and Balphons. I've got about fifty gems altogether."

"That'll be five thousand Gella," he informed her, "Quite remarkable, the only other people I found who could acquire so many would have to be Virginia Enduro and her crew."

He paid her the five thousand Gella, and she ate her lunch. After lunch, the young woman headed back out there to kill some more enemies. More Gella was earned from the selling of Ice Gems as well. For multiple enemies, Megami would use her Mystic skill to expend one gem to attack every one in the group. Thus, she slew them at a much faster rate than before.

That night, Megami was having a hard time getting to sleep. It wasn't the room or the chill in the air that bothered her, it was a feeling in her heart. A pain of sadness washed over her, and she saw Ryu's face staring back at her whenever she tried to close her eyes.

- - - -

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Teefa's Last Words…

It's easier to figure out what's in the ABBYS than Laixland, because there are guides to the ABBYS online. If I wanted to do this directly, I'd have to go through an enemy guide, and then write down everything found at Laixland. You know I'm lazy. That's why the change. That and drama.


	6. The Boss Appears

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The Boss Appears

A month later, Megami was really rolling in the Gella. She'd killed many enemies, so she got that large bonus that the villagers had promised her. Besides that, she sold many gems to Roykman, who was still recovering from his wound, and a little worried about traveling with the monsters around.

One day, she found a small cave near the side of the mountain. The young woman wondered if it could be where the enemy was coming from, so she went inside. There, she found what appeared to be a tunnel. When she got to the end of it, Megami found herself near the ABBYS.

"Well, how do you like it?" inquired a voice behind her, "My little plan to transport monsters from the ABBYS to Laixland. It's just the first phase in my plan to destroy the world."

Megami looked behind her, and saw a demon standing there. He stood tall like a human, but had the appearance of an orange lizard with blood red spots all over his body. Large claws like that of a lion were on his hands and feet, and he was armed with the fangs of a cobra.

"Who are you, and why do you want to do such a thing?" she demanded.

The monster replied, "My name is Tokage. And I really don't know why, just for sport I guess. We demons certainly don't care what happens to Filgaia, we only want to hear the screams you humans emit when we strike you down. Now, how do you want me to kill you, quickly, or slowly?"

Megami shot him with her Bazooka. "Neither. You'll be the one to die, fiend. I'll just figure out your weakness, and then find the best way to kill you." With that, she cast Analyze. Instantly, his weakness came up on the screen. Tokage was weak against Water and cast Fire magic.

"Just my luck," she stated, "I have just the spells to deal with you, and the guard to protect myself. No wonder the Balphons and Baskervilles were the most plentiful of what I found, they're fellow fire demons. Now, it's time I sent you to the graveyard. Pressure."

The water attack hit Tokage. But as he was a much larger monster, he wasn't killed instantly like the other enemies. That gave him the chance to cast Volcano Trap on her. Which didn't work as well as he'd hoped, due to her Fire Ward. She countered with another Pressure, and he attacked with a skill called Furious Claw. As luck would have it, Megami's ATT Blocker Personal Skill activated to stop him. Tokage wasn't a happy camper at this point, and was on the verge of throwing a major fit.

"Why, why, why won't you let me kill you!" he screamed, stomping his feet at the same time.

Megami said, "Simple, I have some loved ones that I need to return home to. So I can't die today, or even tomorrow. I'd expect more from the boss of all these monsters."

Fury shone in Tokage's eyes. "Then taste this. Furious Claw." This time the attack hit home, giving Megami a major wound in her right arm. An evil smile crept across his face.

"Child's play," Megami informed him, "Especially compared to what I have with me at the moment. Potion Berry." The berry went to work at twice its normal power, due to the Green Thumb Personal Skill she'd seen fit to equip in case of emergencies. Now, she was back to full.

"Where did you learn to do these things? No normal human is able to cast spells. You must be one of those pathetic Guardian Worshiping fools from Baskar," he deduced.

She told him, "No, I just studied there. Though it is quite a nice power, being able to kill monsters quickly, and netting plenty of Elemental Gems in the process. Say goodbye, Tokage."

He began to shake with fear. "No, please don't kill me. I'll. . .I'll be good from now on. I won't attack any more humans, I'll change my ways. Just please, let me live."

  
"Whining won't save you now," she coldly said, "You're not dealing with some humanitarian, you're dealing with Megami. Now, die. Pressure." The spell hit its intended target, and Tokage let out an unearthly scream. He then transformed into a Water Gem.

"Now that we're done with this, let's go back to town. I'd better get my reward money, and return to my children. I hope those idiots are treating them alright. Else they've just earned the Wrath of Megami," she muttered. Then, the woman took the mountain path back to Laixland.

* * *

When she came into the saloon, Megami ordered a drink. She then called Roykman over to sell him the gems she'd collected. When that was over, she approached the saloon owner, and stated, "You don't have anything more to worry about. I found out where the monsters are coming from, and killed off their boss. The numbers should start to die down now, I'll make sure of that."

Relief washed over her face. "You mean you're going to stay here permanently as our Monster Exterminator? Oh, what a relief that will be. We could always use someone around to keep them from getting too out of hand. Thank you Megami, you're always welcome in my saloon."

"As tempting as that sounds, I have to move on," Megami told her, "But I'll stay a little bit longer to make sure the numbers are indeed tapering off. If they aren't, I'll resort to more drastic measures."

"For all your hard work, I'm going to give you a special bonus. All the villagers got together to raise the money to pay you the extra that we promised you. How does 10,000 Gella sound to you Miss Megami? Do you think it's a fair price for all you've done?" asked the woman.

Megami nodded. She was surprised that such a small village was willing to part with that much money. But she accepted anyway, she wasn't a fool. After all, how many people would be willing to pay that much for a simple job of exterminating monsters?

She stayed in Laixland for another week, fighting off the monsters. Once she was sure that their numbers were no longer high, Megami packed her bags. The young woman was off for Jolly Roger, as she'd heard that the ARMs dealer sold elemental ammo for Sandcrafts. Maybe she had the same thing in bazooka size. Then, Megami could get more than just Ice and Water Gems in battle.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

Yeah that's Wrath of Megami, not a mistake. It's a term. Kind of like when I wrote Lina Penalty instead of Fireball in that Slayers/Legend of Mana crossover. Intended as a joke.


	7. Megami's New Attack

****

Megami's New Attack

Soon after leaving Laixland, Megami, Lilka, and Ashley arrived in Jolly Roger. The young woman went to Emilia's shop right away, hoping to get some elemental ammo. When Emilia saw her stepping up to the counter, she put away her ARMs magazine, and went to wait on her.

"Howdy," she said, "What do you need done today? I offer upgrades for both ARMs and the new experimental Hovercrafts out there. I'm phasing out of Sandcrafts, as it seems like the environment is beginning to renew itself, and water is going to fill the Sea of Sand sometime soon."

"Do you have elemental ammo that I can equip in my bazooka?" inquired Megami.

Emilia replied, "I guess I can whip some up. After all, if I can make such bullets to fit a Sandcraft, I don't see any reason I can't make 'em smaller. Come back tomorrow and I'll show you what I've done. Oh, and leave the bazooka with me, I need to experiment with it in order to make the ammo."

Megami left the shop, and headed to the Saloon. She ordered a small beer, and sat down at one of the tables. 'It's quite a nice little town. Wonder how much treasure I can find here? I have to wait for Emilia's answer anyway, so I might as well hear out any rumors I can find.'

When questioned, the patrons talked about how there was only one ruin in the area, but it had been picked over so many times that it was as empty as one of the ale glasses in their hands. But one man spoke of a group of thugs who were holed up in those ruins, and maybe they had some treasure, as they robbed Merchants and Drifters all the time. No one was sure though, as they were all too scared to try to head there in order to face off with the thieves.

"I'll go," Megami stated, "I am not scared of any thugs, I've got a bazooka and I know how to use it. I just have one request for you men. Watch over my two kids for me. Their father has died and I have no friends or relatives to leave them with. So I'm stuck taking them along for the ride while I am traveling. But if I bring them into battle, they'll just get in the way of my attacks."

"Whatever you say ma'am. We need some help, no one stands a chance against the gang in a battle. But you really should consider settling down, if you've got kids," one man suggested.

Megami yelled, "I am not going to just sit at home and twiddle my thumbs. I am a Drifter, and I will be until the day I die. If you've got a problem with that, I'll leave, and let you deal with the thugs."

After that, the Saloon got really quiet. Megami glared around, hoping to find a scowl on the face of someone, but she wasn't able to. "That's better. Now then, give me directions, I'll head there in the morning. I've got an important ARMs modification then, and I need to be prepared."

* * *

"Well, Miss Megami," Emilia told her, "I checked it out, and was able to make some ammo for your bazooka. Just load it up when you defend, and you can shoot different Elements at your enemies. I got you three clips for each Element, for a total of twenty-one shots each. That should last you for a little while, I'll work on some replacements for you in the meantime."

"Thank you. I have an important battle to get to, and I just might need these," Megami stated.

She left the shop, and headed towards the Ruins of Memory. On the way, she just used her normal attacks against the monsters. No point in wasting such valuable shots unless it was necessary. These small fries weren't worth the ammo she put into them anyway.

Once at the ruins, Megami began searching for the thugs. She found them at the back of the building, with what appeared to be several chests full of Gella. Megami deduced that it must be the money that they'd stolen from the Merchants and Drifters.

The apparent leader asked, "And who might you be? Some little girl out here playing Drifter or something? Because you don't look like you could hold your own in a fight at all."

  
Megami laughed. "And what makes you say that? I am Megami, the Goddess Warrior. I have come to challenge you all to a battle. Winner gets the money you have there."

"So, you're a Justice Freak," another man deduced, "Come to give all this money back to the people we stole it from. People like you really annoy me, you know."

"I'm not doing this for them. I need the money to survive. Since I have no desire to turn into a thieving monster like you, I'll just take it from you. I'm not a bounty hunter, I deal in treasure and monster extermination. You just happen to be in the way of my treasure," she coldly said.

The leader ordered, "Men! Attack the woman now. You can't lose to her."

Megami watched them charge. "Ho, hum. I've seen it all before boys." With that, she pulled out her bazooka, and blasted the thugs one by one. Soon, only the leader was left.

"You're pretty good," he noticed, "How about you join up with me?"

"No thanks, I've no desire to be a thief. How about you die, here and now?" she mocked him. With that, she decided to try her new attacks out. Arming a Fire Shell into her bazooka, Megami blasted him as he charged forward. Once he fell, she helped herself to his treasure.

* * *

Back in town, she asked Emilia, "Could you turn out some more of those shells for me? They've got some great power behind them, I ran a few tests while I was out at the Ruins of Memory."

Emilia nodded. "I've been working on them since you left. Just come by whenever you run out, and I'll be willing to sell them to you. Maybe I can get some others to try this to."

So Megami brought a few more of each shell. She then returned to the Saloon to collect her children. Then, the young woman left town, and walked out into the sunset once more.

- - - -

****

Teefa's Last Words…

Yup, that's it unless I get new ideas. But I do have sequels in the works. Dealing with the reunited Jet and Virginia for one, and perhaps also another Megami centric fic.


End file.
